


For Her

by helsinkibaby



Category: Fame (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Pre-Romance, Romantic Friendship, canon character death referenced
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-19 10:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4743275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whilst dj-ing a tribute to Nicole, Reggie's help makes Ian reconsider their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Her

**Author's Note:**

> For the movie quotes weekend challenge at one million words. I got "Play it, Sam, play 'As Time Goes By'."

When the door of the studio opens, Ian is instantly on his guard. It's only the second WSOA show he's done on his own; last time, it had been Jesse who gatecrashed, bundling Ian out of the room and proceeding to taunt Mikey Garth in a display as disturbing as it was upsetting. 

Not that Ian disagrees with Jesse's intent; he'd enjoyed listening to recordings of Nicole. Paying tribute to a lost friend isn't something he has trouble with. In fact, it's what he's doing tonight, albeit in a more circumspect way - big flashy declarations of intent aren't really his thing. 

And it takes him less than a second to let his guard back down, because this week's gatecrasher is quieter, calmer, if a little red around the eyes. Then again, he's used to that after the last couple of weeks. Reggie closes the door behind her, leans against it with her hands behind her back and smiles at him. That's when he knows she's figured him out. 

If he's honest with himself, he knew she would. 

He doesn't say anything, just gives her a shrug, a small smile and they stand there like that until he has to look away to change the record. 

He hears her move, hears her flipping through the records and he leaves her to it, lets her find what she's looking for. He raises an eyebrow when she hands him a record, points to the track, "My Boyfriend's Back." 

"Seriously?"

The smile Reggie gives him is nothing close to full wattage but it's as close as he's seen in a while. "There's a story involving a slumber party and singing into hairbrushes and that's all you're getting from me." 

He wants all the details but leaves it at that, for now, simply nodding and cueing up the track, pulling out his own pick for the track afterwards. "When did you know?" he asks and the chuckle she gives is music to his ears. No pun intended, of course. 

"You played Frannie Fortune. Voluntarily." She's looking at him like he's an idiot and he holds his hands up, guilty as charged. 

They've always worked well together, whatever project they've been paired up on and this is no exception. Between them, they find all of Nicole's favourite songs, as well as some that are connected to good memories of her but when it's near the end of the night and Reggie hands him what will be the last song they have time for, he's not sure. 

"It was her favourite movie," Reggie tells him. "One of the only times I saw her really mad at me was when I told her I'd never seen it." She smiles sadly, and he knows her well enough to know she's lost in her memories. "The next weekend, she sat me down, made me watch it... she could quote every line." She breaks off then, looks down but not so quickly that he doesn't see the tears in her eyes. She draws in a shuddering breath, forces a smile when she looks up at the sensation of his hand on her shoulder. "Play it, Sam," she says. "Play 'As Time Goes By'."

He doesn't have the heart to refuse her so he doesn't, puts it on the pile and he only moves his hand off her shoulder when he needs to introduce the next track. They work in silence again until he plays the last song, until he sees tears in her eyes again and he has to do something, anything, to stop her crying. 

If he's learned anything in the last couple of weeks it's that he can't stand to see her cry. 

"C'mere," he says, pulling her into his arms. "Let's dance." 

He's no dancer but one arm slides easily around her waist, the other hand taking hers, ballroom style. She huffs a laugh as she puts her hand on his back, her head on his shoulder. They sway together as the music swirls around them and Ian tries very hard not to think about how easy this feels, how right it seems to hold her like this. Reggie's his friend, one of his best friends and if they've been blurring the line a little lately, because she's been upset, because she's needed someone to lean on, well, it's natural. But it can't be any more than that, and he knows that. 

Which doesn't explain why he lets himself press a kiss to the top of her head. 

Or why she presses herself closer to him, tightens her hold on him and lets out a shuddering sigh. 

"Reg..." he begins but she doesn't let him finish.  

"I know," she whispers, not lifting her head. "But can we not... for tonight, can we just dance?" 

Just like when she picked the track, he finds her doesn't have the heart to refuse her. 

He's not a dancer, but tonight, he will be. 

For her. 


End file.
